BIBLIOGRAPHY
Montgomery, Sy. 2006. QUEST FOR THE TREE KANGAROO: AN EXPEDITION TO THE CLOUD FOREST OF NEW GUINEA. Photographs by Nic Bishop. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 9780618496419
PLOT SUMMARY
In this delightful story about Matschie’s Tree Kangaroos, a research team sets out to explore the cloud forest of Papua New Guinea. Scientist Lisa Dabek takes this trek through the forest every year in order to learn more about her favorite animal and encounter some others as well. “Here you’ll find birds that grow as tall as a man. Cassowaries remind you of dinosaurs. They sport helmets of bone growing up from their blue and black heads.” Author, Sy Montgomery, and Photographer, Nic Bishop, follow along the difficult but rewarding and exciting journey.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The first impression for readers is a large book with a cover of color and a fuzzy creature. Upon opening the book, one sees large and small colorful photos of the native people, the jungle, the animals, and so much more. Each photograph ties in with the text. They are so alive and intriguing that they really leave you begging for more. Their placement on the pages is inviting and has good use of variety as far as size, color, and photo bleeding. Though entrenched with good material, the text is not overly small and the headings are large and colorful.
The text follows a sequential order. It is dynamic and includes interest, personal stories, and factual information. The book also includes a list of words from the local language of Tok Pisin. Readers can refer to the list of “Tree Kangaroos near You” in order to experience the joy of seeing one in person. The author and field researcher are both women with credible backgrounds. Montgomery is an award-winning author who experiences her writing first-hand by traveling around the world. Dr. Lisa Dabek worked at Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island as the zoo’s director of conservation and research.
This story can be read by people of many ages and is interesting to all! The text is clear, readable, and lively. As you begin the story, you will be immediately drawn into the events and you will celebrate when Lisa and the team make the discoveries that they do. “That is the miracle of doing work here,” Lisa says. “They are so elusive. And then you finally find them. The whole field season is riding on these moments.”
REVIEW EXCERPTS
STARRED KIRKUS REVIEW – “From the maps in front to the concluding suggestions for young enthusiasts, information about the language, and index, this is another commendable title from an experienced team.”
CHILDREN’S LITERATURE REVIEW - “Much information is provided about the singular island of New Guinea with beautiful photographs of parrots, snakes, waterfalls, and tropical flowers. Yes—the team finds the tree kangaroos, way up high at 80 feet in the forest canopy.”
Received “The Robert F. Sibert Honor Book” Award.
CONNECTIONS
*View video of Dabek by national geographic at the following site:
*Incorporate critical thinking questions:
What question or issue is the researcher investigating?
What challenges does the researcher face?
What tools are researchers using to gather geospatial data?
What impact might the researcher have on the issue being researched?
*Conduct a field study of your own. Have the class make flip books with each page having an area of study such as habitat, food, body parts necessary for their environment, and other categories. Choose animals available in your area to study and arrange for students to leave the classroom in order to do this.
*This book could be an activity to lead into endangered and extinct animals. Lists of these can be found online.
*For language arts classes, have students write about what they can do to help. How can they help protect animals from becoming endangered? How can they help Dr. Dabek with her work?
No comments:
Post a Comment